Four things Glasner got right for Crystal Palace
Oliver Glasner’s first game in charge of Crystal Palace could not have gone much better.
A team which had won one of their past seven games before Saturday breezed past 10-man Burnley at Selhurst Park, scoring three goals in the final 22 minutes to earn three points.
So how did Glasner have a clear impact so quickly at Palace and what changes did he make?
Unleashing Matheus Franca
Just over a month ago, Roy Hodgson said of 19-year-old Matheus Franca: “If you’ve come here from Brazil like França, you’ve come here with dreams of taking the Premier League by storm. But he’s young. It’s not going to be easy to break into a Premiership side.”
It was clear Hodgson did not trust Franca, or any of Palace’s young contingent – he said as much after the 2-1 defeat to Spurs back in October.
And while Glasner did not start Franca, he brought him on for Odsonne Edouard on 66 minutes. Palace scored their first goal two minutes later.
Franca then set up Jordan Ayew’s finish, his first goal contribution in English football, before winning the penalty Jean-Philippe Mateta eventually converted after a powerful driving run.
“He had a big impact,” Glasner said of Franca post-match. “He showed confidence.
“I spoke with him this week that he’s excellent in one-on-one situations but he maybe didn’t take the one-on-one situations as often as he could. But he got an assist [and won a penalty]. This is his quality, this is nothing I did with him. It’s his credit.
The Brazilian has now made a strong case to start moving forward, bolstered by Glasner’s support.
Finding a balance between defence and attack
After taking over at Selhurst Park, Glasner outlined his philosophy to Palace fans: “The philosophy is easy; it is scoring goals. As I tell the players, this is why we started playing football. No one went on the pitch when they were young to defend. We should never forget this.
“The fans want to see us fighting and playing together to score a goal. Then, of course, we think about how we defend, whether a high press or a low block, but the philosophy is about scoring goals.”
And against Burnley, Glasner’s side attacked from the off and were unlucky not to be ahead at half-time. Lining up in a 3-4-2-1, Palace defended effectively and stopped Burnley from having a shot on target all game, while also winning by three goals in a competitive match for the first time since April 2023.
While Hodgson had trialled a three-at-the-back system of late, Glasner found the balance which allowed it to flourish.
Giving Daniel Munoz free rein
Daniel Munoz has instantly become a fan favourite since joining Palace from Genk in January.
The Colombian right-back is tenacious, gets forward as well as he defends and runs and runs until he can no more.
And utilised as a right wing-back by Glasner, Munoz was allowed to take advantage of his attacking gifts – he scored seven goals in 29 games for Genk this season alone.
While he did not score or assist, Munoz provided four crosses and had two shots against Burnley, also being caught offside three times, a sign of the freedom he had been given.
If he continues in this free role on the right, Munoz can quickly become one of Palace’s most vital players.
Creating a sense of optimism at Selhurst Park
This is the most intangible but the most important of all the changes since Glasner took over.
You only needed a cursory glance over your preferred social media platform to see fans purring over Glasner’s Palace and making them believe already the club could break the malaise of mediocrity it has long been trapped in.
Palace have finished between 10th and 15th every season since they were last promoted to the Premier League and Glasner has been tasked with changing that.
The Austrian said post-match “everybody could feel the energy” when his players took to the pitch, and a lot of that was due to a newfound optimism an ardent realist like Hodgson could never quite provide.
